We apologize for taking so long to update after such an exciting trip, there’s just even more to do now! La Ceiba recently travelled to Honduras and implemented our microfinance program with great success! The first round of loans was disbursed on January 8th to our very enthusiastic clients. As we’re at our beginning, it’s a small program with a small client base, but we feel very lucky to have the sort of program structure that allows us to create personal relationships and be in touch with every one of our clients. We want to make sure that every single loan with give out is multiplying itself as wealth for our clients, their families, and the entire community.
I was among the few in our group who had never been to Honduras, so I knew least of anyone what I should expect. Though I probably shouldn’t have been, I was surprised when we first got to Siete. From everything I’d been told, I expected something much more frightening. What I found instead were some very happy women welcoming back the members of La Ceiba who were there last winter, or even over the summer. Everyone we talked to was very excited to have La Ceiba visit their community. For most of the week we were performing surveys to get a sense of the living conditions of specific clients so we could come back and see how much they were really able to benefit from our services and adjust our plans accordingly.
The actual loan program began towards the end of the week with the training that all of our customers are required to go through. While many MFIs tend to focus on actually running a business, we decided that our clients probably know their local market and business customs much better than we do and instead focused on personal money management. The attendance was fantastic and all of the women were great (or so I’m told; non-Spanish speakers were tasked with holding the attention of some very energetic children). The ceremony at which the loans were given out went just as well. As each solidarity group came up to sign the loan agreements and receive their money, it was a powerful moment. It was the very moment some of us, myself included, had been working for an entire year just to reach.
Despite the good mood around the ceremony, we left that day on a bit of an uncertain note. Would we get any repayments? Could our program possibly work in Siete? What would the future be for La Ceiba, if it couldn’t? Those fears were eased and nearly erased on Friday morning, as we learned that some of our clients had already been to the bank, and one, we saw, had already started her new business in Siete. A freshly painted sign reading, in Spanish, “We sell tortillas and chicken tacos,” affirmed a faith in La Ceiba that was only a small hope before. I feel incredibly confident in our program, its people, and its ability to help our friends help themselves.